Air-ship.



PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905.

0. E. LEWIS.

AIR SHIP.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 2a. 1903.

3 SHEETS-BHEET 1.

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No. 7791.26. PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905.

AIR SHIP.

APPLIQATION FILED JAN. 23', 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

BANNED JAN! 3 1905.

O. E. LEWIS.

\ AIR SHIP. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

limit; Srnrns Patented January 3, 1905.

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AIR-SHIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 779,126, dated January 3, 1905.

Application filed January 23,1903- Serial No. 140301.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER ELMER LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at VVashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Air-Ship, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in air-ships and devices of like nature, and has for its principal object to provide a mechanism in which vibratory or oscillating planes are used both for raising and propelling purposes.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the movable planes in sets or pairs that the movement of one will be counterbalanced by the movement of the other, and thus provide for the raising of the machine in a vertical or substantially vertical line and provide for its propulsion in a direct course.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism by which the planes may be adjusted to any desired position and locked in such position to elevate the machine by the direct operation of the propelling mechanism, the planes being presented at a suitable angle to the horizontal, or'to permit the gradual descent of the machine when desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a plane of improved construction in which, the plane being in the central position, the two surfaces thereof will be arranged at an angle to each other and both at an oblique angle to a horizontal plane, so that when in midposition the movement of the plane in either direction will offer resistance, each of said planes comprising a plurality of strips or slats of very light material, preferably fabric, so arranged and disposed that on movement of the plane in any one direction a portion of the strips will be opened to allow the free passage of the air, while the remaining strips will close to present an inclined surface to the air and by the movement of the plane and the resistance of the air serve to elevate and propel the machine. I

A still further object of the invention is to provide a machine of simple construction in which all unnecessary parts are eliminated and the weight of the frame reduced to such an extent that the planes employed for lifting purposes may be comparatively small and readily operated.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various.

changes in the form. proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an air-ship constructed in accordance with the invention, indicating the same as suspended from a balloon. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, a portion of the planes being broken away in order to more clearly illustrate the construction. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation of the device on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. i is a similar view, on a somewhat larger scale, on the line A 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, illustrating in detail a portion of the intermediate mechanism for driving the propelling-planes. Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating the mounting of the plane-carrying levers. Fig. 7 is a detail plan view of the central member of the frame of the machine. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view on the line 8 8 of Fig. 1.

Similar numeralsof reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The frame of the machine is preferably formed of aluminium or otherlight and strong material and comprises in general three connected truss-like members. The central member is formedof an upper bar 1, provided at its opposite ends with sockets or eyes 2 and 3, respectively,'the socket at the forward end of the frame serving for the reception and support of the propelling means, while the socket 3 at the rear end forms a support for a rudder i, which may be formed of a small angular frame carrying a sheet of some light material, such as silk or similar fabric. At the central portion of the upper member are secured two spaced radially-disposed bars 5, connected at their lower ends to brace members 6, which extend, respectively, toward the front and rear of the machine and are securely fastened to the upper bar, 1.

On each side of the central frame is a second frame 9, also of truss-like form, and the three frames are connected together by a plurality of shafts 10, 11, and 12, the shaft 10 being disposed transversely across the central portion of the machine and forming a crankshaft which may be driven in any suitable manner, while the shafts 11 and 12 are rockshafts and serve to support the several planecarrying arms 13.

The inclined planes are each formed of opposite side bars 14, connected to each other by transversely-disposed parallel bars 15 and 16, the bar 15 being arranged at a central point, while the bars 16 form the opposite end members of the planes. The central bar is rigidly connected to the carrying-lever 13 or to the outer sides of the bars 14, the carrying-levers being bifurcated for this purpose, as shown in Fig. 3. The end bars 16 are provided at a point about mid way of their length with openings for the passage of eyebolts 17, threaded for the reception of adjusting-nuts, and from the eyebolts lead tension-braces 19, having their lower ends connected to perforated lugs 20, projecting from opposite sides of the carrying-lever, the metal or other material of which the carrying-lever is formed being continuous for the length of the lever, while the lugs are secured to or formed integral with the levers in such manner as not to reduce the strength of the latter. The said bars 14 are each formed of two arms arranged at a slight angle to each other, as best shown in Fig. 1, and extending transversely across the frame and secured to these arms are a number of small rods 21, on which are secured strips 22, formed of silk or other suitable material and preferably slightly weighted at their lower ends, as by strips of cork or other suitable material. The width of these strips is atrifle greater than the distance between two adjacent rods 21, so that when the strips are in closed position they will present an uninterrupted surface which when moved against the air in one direction will tend to elevate the machine and when moved in the opposite direction the strips will open and permit the free passsage of the air. This feature is illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein the two planes are moving in the direction of the arrows, the inner planes,

being closed by the downward thrust against the air, while the outer planes are opened and offer little or no resistance to the movement. When moved in the opposite direction, or away from each other, the outer planes will be closed, while the inner planes will be opened and permit the passage of the air, so that in each direction of movement there is a lifting tendency and the forces serve to counterbalance each other and permit the raising of the machine in a direct vertical line.

In order to strengthen and brace the part i the plane-carrying arms are connected to each other by diagonal braces 24, as best shown in Fig. 3, the ends of the braces being secured to perforated lugs projecting laterally from the carrying-levers, so as to avoid weakening the structure by forming openings in the levers or by passing securing-bolts or the like through the same.

Each of the upper horizontally-disposed frame members is offset and provided with an auxiliary strip or bar 26 to form a space for the passage of the carrying-levers, and these several bars are each provided with openings for the passage of the crank-shaft and the two rock-shafts 11 and 12, one of the latter being shown in detail in Fig. 6. The shaft 12 is preferably formed of a number of sections and does not extend through the carrying-lever. The adjacent ends of the sections are rigidly secured to flanged collars 27, which fit snugly against the opposite sides of the plane-carrying levers and are provided with alining openings for the passage of securing bolts or rivets 28, these serving to rigidly connect the levers to the shaft without danger of weakening the levers by the formation of openings for the passage of said shafts.

The centrally-disposed crank-shaft 10 is provided with three pairs of cranks 28,c0nnected by rods 29 to the lower ends of the plane-carrying levers 13, and the cranks are disposed at points diametrically opposite each other, so that as the shaft 10 is rotated the two rockshafts 11 and 12 and plane-carrying levers will receive movement in opposite directions with respect to each otherthat is to say, they will move alternately toward and away fromeach other.

In the lower portion of the frame of the machine is a motor 30, represented in the present instance bya cylinder the piston-rod of whichis operatively connected to a small transverselydisposed shaft or stud 31, on which is mounted a sprocket-wheel 32, the stud or shaft being carried by the spaced vertical bars 5 of the frame. These bars are further provided with openings or bearings for the reception of a transversely-disposed shaft33, having a pinion 34, connected by a link belt 35 to the sprocketwheel 32, and on said shaft are two fast clutch members 36 and 37. On the shaft 33 is a loose sprocket-wheel 38, the hub of which is provided with clutch-teeth adapted to engage similar teeth in the fast clutch member 36 when moved the'reagainst by the clutchinglever 39, the lever being provided with a suitable locking-latch 40. The loose sprocket 38 is connected by a link belt 41 to a sprocketwheel 42 on the crank shaft 10, and when the sprocket-wheel 38 is clutched'to the shaft the rotations of the motor are transmitted to the two sets of inclinedplanes, which serve to elevate the machine.

At the forward end of the machine is a ver --fulcrum for two sets of crank-levers 51 and 52. The longer arms of the crank-lever extend in general alinement with the frame and at their outer ends are loosely connected to the inclined planes 53 5a of a construction similar to the lifting-planes, althoughthe supporting means is slightly modified, as best shown in Fig. 1 and the brace members 19 arranged at a slight angle to the plane of the supporting-arms 51 and 52. The shorter arms of the members 51 and 52 are connected in pairs by pins 55, the pins having reduced end portions passing through suitable openings in the arms and being locked in position by keys 56 or otherwise secured in such manner as to permit a slight rotative movement of the pins. The pins are slotted for the reception of the outer ends of connecting-rods 57, which are held in position by pivot-pins 58, while the inner ends of the rods are connected by blocks 60 to pins carried by crank-disks 61, the crankdisks being mounted on the opposite ends of a small transverse shaft 62. One of the disks is provided with peripheral teeth to form a sprocket-gear over which passes a link belt 63, which also extends over a sprocket-wheel 64:, mounted loosely on the shaft 33. The hub of the sprocket-wheel 64 is provided with clutch-teeth adapted to be moved into engagement with similar teeth on the fast clutch 37 by means of an operating-lever 65, and when so engaged the rotations of the motor are imparted to the crank-disks and thence to the propelling-planes 53 5a, the latter receiving motion in opposite directions, respectively, so that sidewise movement of one is counterbalanced by the similar movement in opposite direction of the other and the machine drawn forward in a direct course.

For the convenience of the operator a seat or other support 67 is arranged adjacent to the several clutch-operating levers, and below the seat at a point within convenient reach of the operator is a transversely-disposed pedal-lever 68, arranged on a central pivot and having its opposite ends connected by cords or rods 69 to laterally-projecting arms 7 0, carried by the stem of the rudder 4, so that the rudder may be readily controlled by the operator.

In the operation of the machine the vertitically-disposed planes may be operated independently of the planes at the front of the machine in order that the lifting power may be alone exercised or the propellers may be set into operation while the lifting-planes remain stationary. When this occurs, it is desirable to provide means for gradually adjusting the positions of the lifting-planes and for locking the same in adjusted position, so that the operator may take advantage of the forward movement of the machine to soar, or by adjusting the planes to a different position to gradually descend. For this purpose the crank-shaft 10 is provided with a notched locking-disk 71, as best shown in Fig. i, and below the disk is a spring-pressed locking-bolt 7 2, the lower end of which is connected by a rod or cord 73 to a small link or ring 74, which may be hooked over a pin 75, carried by the frame to hold the spring-bolt out of engagement with the disk during the rotation of the shaft. When desired, the ring is released from the pin and the bolt allowed to move into engagement withone of the notches of the disk and lock the crank-shaft from furr ther movement. To properly adjust the lifting-planes, the shaft 33 is provided with a hand-wheel 76, which may be turned by the operator to move the planes until the latter have assumed a proper angle for the purpose intended, after which the locking-bolt is allowed to move into engagement with the notched disk 71.

In order to stop the movement of the propelling-planes, the shaft 62 is provided with a notched locking-disk 78, which may be engaged by a spring-pressed locking-bolt 79, connected by a cord 80 to a ring 81 within convenient reach of the operator, a holdinghook 82 being employed to prevent movement of the locking-bolt during the operation of the propelling-planes.

In carrying out the invention the motor employed should be of any of the ordinary types capable of operating in both directions, and as the construction of such motor forms no part of the present invention it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate its construction in detail.

At the central portion of the frame is a depending spring 84, which may be employed as a landing-spring when the machine comes into contact with the ground.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In an air-ship a plane comprising frame members disposed at an angle to each other and at an oblique angle to a horizontal line when the plane is in mid-position, a plurality of flexible strips carried by the plane and mounted to permit passage of air in one direction and to resist it in the opposite direction, and means for oscillating said plane.

2. In an air-ship, a plane comprising frame members disposed at an angle to each other and at an oblique angle to a horizontal line when the plane is in mid-position thereby presenting two surfaces either of which may be active in accordance with the direction of the movement of the plane, a plurality of flexible strips carried by the plane and arranged in sets, one set closing to resist the air and the other opening to permit the passage thereof when the plane is moved in one direction, and the operation of the sets of strips being in the reverse order when the plane is moved to the opposite direction, a supporting-lever carry- IIS ing the'plane, and means for imparting oscillatory movement to said plane.

3. In an air-ship, a plurality of parallel frame members, a central operating-shaft extending through said members, rock-shafts supported by said members in parallel relation With the operating-shaft, a plurality of sets of cranks on said operating-shaft, a plurality of plane-supporting arms secured to the rock-shafts, rods connecting said arms to the cranks and serving to impart oscillatory movement to the arms, planes carried by said arms, said planes each comprising frame members disposed at an angle to each other and at an oblique angle to a horizontal line when in mid-position, and a plurality of flexible strips carried by the arms and closing in one direction to resist the air and opening in the opposite direction to permit the passage thereof.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

OLIVER ELMER LEWIS. Witnesses:

J. M. WALKER, J. H. JOOHUM, Jr. 

